RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Medication non-adherence is one important reason behind sub-optimal outcome from treatment of bipolar affective disorder (BPAD). Though various reasons behind medication non-adherence have been identified, little is known about the medication adherence patterns across various predominant polarities (PP) in BPAD. METHODS: 100 euthymic patients of BPAD were purposively recruited and the PP were determined. Subsequently, Morisky Medication adherence scale (MMAS); Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF); Oslo Social Support Scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life scale- Brief version (WHOQOL-Bref) were administered. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was done to estimate the difference of scores of MMAS after adjusting for any potential confounders. RESULTS: Overall, 44 patients with manic PP (MPP), 17 with depressive PP (DPP) and 39 with indeterminate PP (IPP) were recruited. It was found that patients who presented with DPP showed significantly higher medication adherence as compared to MPP. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of PP of a patient of BPAD can be useful in anticipating medication adherence and treatment outcome. The major limitations included non-probability sampling, cross-sectional design and limited generalizability of the results.
RESUMEN
Polydipsia has always been an intriguing entity in clinical psychiatry, since long. Other than being commonly associated with patients of chronic schizophrenia, as described in past, it can also mimic and present in other psychiatric disorders; and thus may be elusive for diagnosis and treatment. Here we describe a patient having polydipsia with prominent obsessive compulsive symptoms, which, after detailed investigations, was found to be secondary to herpes encephalitis. The organic nature of the illness was ascertained by distinct signal changes in right uncus, hippocampus and cingulate cortex; whereas conventional workup for polydipsia ruled out both central and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Treatment with fluoxetine, proper behavioural management and psychoeducation resulted in slow but sustained improvement in this patient. We then deconstruct the clinical manifestations and discuss the neurobiological explanation.
RESUMEN
Bipolar disorder (BD) patients have increased serum Uric Acid (UA) levels as compared to their healthy counterparts. They also demonstrate higher impulsivity - while symptomatic, as well as when in remission. Impulsivity adds a risk of self-harming behavior to BD, and studies show that it increases with UA levels. Given this complex relationship, the current project aimed at comparing UA levels in first-episode mania patients with matched controls, and analyzes its relationship with impulsivity, symptom severity and disease prognosis. Thirty-one first-episode mania patients were assessed on BIS-11 and YMRS, serum uric acid levels were measured, and compared to matched controls. A follow up YMRS was rated after one month to evaluate the effects of treatment. We found significantly higher levels of UA in patients, which showed positive correlation with impulsivity and a negative correlation with symptom improvement at 1 month. The results of the study support a purinergic system dysfunction hypothesis in first-episode mania, and suggest its influence on impulsivity in this patient group. Further, the mentioned dysfunction appears to have a negative impact on treatment outcomes in such cases.